ORLANDO, Fla. – A dog has died after being left in a hot car, and the dog's owner has been arrested on animal cruelty charges, Orlando police say.
Jose Thomas, 28, has been charged with cruelty to animals, a misdemeanor, after leaving her dog, Lily, alone inside of a crate in the car while she ran errands.
Police said they were called to Mercy Drive Thursday afternoon where a bystander had broken the window of the vehicle to get the dog out. When officers arrived, they found Lily unconscious on the sidewalk and rushed her with lights and sirens to an emergency vet.
"It looked like Lily might live, but the trauma to her body was too great, and she had to be put down yesterday," Orlando police said in a Facebook post. OPD Capt. Sue Brown paid the bill for Lily's care.
It's not clear how long Thomas left Lily in the vehicle.
"It should be noted, while Thomas was sitting in the back seat of my vehicle with the air conditioner on full blast and the rear windows fully opened, she stated it was really hot in the back seat. I then asked Thomas how she thinks her dog felt with the car not running and stuck inside a crate and at that time, Thomas did understand the extent of what she did," the report said.
Police said they believe that Thomas did not mean to harm her dog. She was arrested and booked into Orange County Jail.